Sacramento’s Erin Buescher Named Most Improved Player

-- Becomes Second Consecutive Monarch to
Earn the Honor --

NEW YORK, August 19, 2006 - The WNBA
today announced that Erin Buescher of the Sacramento Monarchs has been named the
2006 WNBA Most Improved Player. Buescher received 28 out of a possible 56 votes
among a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

In her fifth year
in the league, Buescher saw her playing time increase dramatically while DeMya
Walker was returning from her pregnancy. Playing almost double the minutes she
did last year (19.7 minutes per game vs. 9.1), Buescher posted career highs in
points (9.7), rebounds (3.9) and steals (0.97) per game, marking significant increases
from her averages prior to the season (3.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 steals).
In all, Buescher finished the season as the Monarchs' second leading scorer and
offensive rebounder behind Yolanda Griffith, and ranked third on the team in total
rebounds, fourth in both steals and blocks and sixth in assists.

Perhaps
most significant was Buescher's offensive efficiency as she led the league in
field-goal percentage at 53.7. Similarly, her 78 offensive rebounds ranked seventh
in the WNBA, eclipsing her total of 14 a year ago.

Buescher established
career high single-game numbers with 25 points and 9 free-throws on June 29 vs.
Minnesota and with 13 rebounds on July 1 vs. Charlotte.

"She worked
really hard on her post work early in the season with Assistant Coach Monique
Ambers," said Monarchs Head Coach and General Manager John Whisenant. "It's
nice to see her get recognized for her efforts."

A product of the University
of California-Santa Barbara and The Master's College, she joined the Monarchs
in March, 2005, when traded by the Charlotte Sting as part of a four-player deal
that also sent Nicole Powell to Sacramento. Powell went on to be named the 2005
WNBA Most Improved Player.

As the WNBA Most Improved Player of the Year,
Buescher will receive a Tiffany-designed trophy and $5,000.

Below are the
results of the 2006 WNBA Most Improved Player voting and past recipients.

Featuring 14 teams and the greatest female
basketball players from around the world, the WNBA is the longest-running and
most successful women's professional team sports league in U.S. history. The 2006
WNBA Playoffs tip off on August 17 and complete coverage will be provided by ABC,
ESPN2 and NBA TV through the conference finals. The 2006 WNBA Finals will be televised
on ESPN2.